The Priest of Corruption

A human who could grow into a four-fingers-worth being would, when harvested, grant ten thousand divinity.
That was Carmen Baltas.

“Besides, I liked his cheerful personality, so I wanted to save him.”

‘Kill!’

I smiled quietly at Mother’s advice not to show affection so easily.

“Just because you don’t want to give it to someone doesn’t mean you can’t give it, right? We become more affectionate as we spend time together.
Don’t be so angry.”

After taking a moment to breathe, I could move my body a little.
This passage was too cramped for the metal giants to enter, but I decided it would be better to move since I didn’t know what the future held.

I picked up Carmen and walked slowly through the hallway shining with a soft blue light.
After moving a little, Carmen released a low moan and came to his senses.

“Where am I…?”

“Do you feel better?”

“Ugh…my head is very dizzy.”

“I’ll let you down.
Let’s rest here for a moment.”

Carmen gasped a few times while holding onto the wall, then sat down and asked me.

“Are Succus and Tonisa really dead…?”

“Yes, unfortunately.”

Hearing my answer, he looked down at the floor with gloomy eyes.

“The moment the metal giant fell from the ceiling, we had to activate the key.
My greed killed them both.”

“Have you known each other for a long time?”

Carmen shook his head.

“No.
I got to know them as recent hires.
But that doesn’t mean I’m not at fault.
Where the hell is this place?”

“Beyond the Black Gate.”

“How did…?”

As he was about to ask something, he just stopped speaking.

“It wouldn’t be polite to ask about something you don’t want to show, not if it’s enough for you to knock me out.
Besides, isn’t Priest Marnak my savior now? I’ll pay you back for this favor on the name of Baltas.”

I reached out my hand to Carmen and smiled.

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Carmen smiled bitterly and took my hand.

“You absolutely cannot reject it.”

“I’m the type of person who is willing to take everything offered.
Anyway, if you’re feeling better now, I think it’d be better to start walking.
I didn’t kill that metal giant; I just ran.”

“Yes.
Let’s go.”

We continued down to the end of the hallway.
At the end of the hallway, there was a door with a blue pattern, but no ancient words were written.
This was definitely the reward room!

I said to Carmen, calming my beating heart.

“It seems we have reached the end of the ruins.
Let’s go inside.”

As I reached out and pushed it, the door gently opened.
The altar towering in the middle of the room and the exit near it welcomed us warmly.
Two objects were placed on the altar: a necklace with beads the size of two thumbs and a sword.

Carmen’s eyes lit up when he saw the necklace.

“What was written in the book was true! Priest Marnak! I’m deeply ashamed, but can I ask for just one thing? Please give me that necklace.
I will definitely reward you once we get out of here.”

I tilted my head at his desperate look.

“What is that necklace?”

Carmen picked up the necklace and explained it to me.

“This necklace is a thing called the Flesh Guide.
When you pour your blood into this marble and think of the blood you want to find, the marble will swallow the blood and point in the direction of the blood you want to find.”

As I listened to his explanation, I remembered Carmen’s origins.
The bastard of Ensis Baltas.
His father would definitely be in the royal capital, so I had an idea of ​​who he was looking for.

Carmen looked at my expression and nodded.

“Your thoughts are probably right.
I’m looking for my mother whom I’ve never met.”

I looked into his black eyes and quickly put my thoughts together.
A searching necklace had no meaning for me anyway.
It was more profitable to hand over the necklace and collect the reward later.

I said with a smile.

“Then, can I have this sword?”

“I’m not interested in anything other than this necklace.
And if it wasn’t for Priest Marnak in the first place, wouldn’t I be dead already? Rather, it’s a shame that you only have a sword to bring.”

In fact, even while Carmen was talking about the necklace, my eyes kept going to the sword.
It had a very unusual appearance…

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Priest!”

Something was breaking down the door and rushing toward this room.
I quickly picked up the relic sword and shouted.

“Let’s go to the exit!”

Boom!

A gigantic metallic hand smashed the door and reached in for us.
Just before the huge hand grabbed on, we succeeded in jumping into the exit by a hair’s breadth.

After falling into the white snowfields, I quickly pushed myself up and looked for Carmen.

“Are you alright!”

As white snowflakes fell from the sky, a hand in a black leather glove popped out.
Carmen, covered in snow, looked at me and smiled.

“I don’t want to see a piece of iron bigger than me for a while.”

I grinned.

“Me either.”

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